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Other Projects and Initiatives

Bandipur Roadkill Awareness Camps

Vehicular traffic passing through forested areas disturb wildlife movement and also cause road kills. Even the most precious wildlife reserrves and national parks are not spared this menace. Bandipur National Park, one of the most well known national parks and tiger reserves in India, lies on the busy highway that connects Mysore to Ooty and Kerala. Thousands of vehicles pass through the national park every day, causing immense disturbance to the wildlife and numerous animal deaths owing to road kills under the wheels of speeding vehicles. After a ban on night traffic on this highway was upheld by the Honourable High Court of Karnataka, disturbance to wildlife during the night decreased dramatically. There are strong evidences that this ban has significantly reduced road kills and improved the mating behaviour and well being of animals in general. However, this created another problem. Vehicles arriving late at the forest border check posts started piling up at the check posts during the night. When the road was opened for traffic in the morning, a mad rush of huge caravans of speeding vehicles of all shapes and sizes began.

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KANS undertook the task of educating the commuters through the Bandipur National Park. Drivers were briefed at the forest check post about the dos-and-dont's while driving through the forest. They were provided with instructive pamphlets printed in 3 languages to ensure that the message on the importance of avoiding road kills reached every driver on the road through the Bandipur National Park. The campaign was carried out by KANS member volunteers over weekends when the traffic reached a peak over a period of many months. The campaign produced some positive effects on a large section of drivers. The initiative is currently under review by KANS to decide the next stage and form of actions on this front.

Safari Visitor Awareness Campaign

Visitors to National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries expect to see a tiger at every turn of the road! Many a times the etiquette of being inside a forest is breached by uninformed tourists. The Safari Visitor Awareness Campaign addresses this problem. The campaign educates safari visitors to appreciate all the beautiful flora and fauna, large and small, that are offered by our forests. People are given a short orientation and educational materials to help them understand the interesting behaviours of the many smaller creatures that one encounters on a safari. The first round of this campaign was conducted at the famous Nagarhole National Park in the Hunsur Division of Karnataka. Schedules for campaigns are announced by KANS from time to time.